Winners and Losers from Serie A Week 12
The Milan Derby was supposed to be the highlight of the weekend, but as both sides disappointed at the San Siro, it was left to Italy's provincial sides to create the round's main talking points.
Both Roma and Juventus continued their seemingly unstoppable breakaway at the top of the table as Napoli stumbled at home to Cagliari and Sampdoria were held at Cesena.
Business as usual, then, at the top of the table. Further down the rankings, however, there was one side in particular that did wonders for its chances of staying in the first division.
Losers: AC Milan and Inter
1 of 8
The Derby della Madonnina was dubbed the "Little Derby" by the Gazzetta dello Sport, after both Milan and Inter failed to make an impression at the San Siro on Sunday night.
"La #primapagina di oggi: #MilanInter little derby, domenica da campioni per Di Natale, Hamilton e Federer pic.twitter.com/TM8VLn2RQH
— LaGazzettadelloSport (@Gazzetta_it) November 24, 2014"
Traditionally one of the biggest games in European football, both Milanese sides are down on their luck right now and it was pretty evident on the pitch.
Putting aside the fact that the majority of players on both sides would never get into any of the great Nerazzurri or Rossoneri squads of old, what little talent was on display failed to rise to the occasion, with the exception of Jeremy Menez, who though disappointing at times, netted a brilliant volleyed goal to open the scoring.
The result was a game that while exciting at times, was ultimately frustrating and below par, resembling more of a provincial, mid-table clash than a meeting of two European heavyweights.
Joel Obi's second-half equaliser spared Roberto Mancini's blushes on the former Manchester City coach's return to the Inter bench, but the draw suited neither side and with just a point gained from the game, both remain stuck in mid-table, behind not only traditional rivals like Juventus, Roma and Napoli, but also Sampdoria, Genoa and Lazio.
There is a serious amount of work to be done on both sides of the San Siro. Both teams have a few quality players, but Pippo Inzaghi and Mancini will need significant investment in their squads if they're to climb the table.
Loser: Mauro Icardi
2 of 8
After his excellent two-goal performance spared Inter defeat at the hands of Hellas Verona in the previous round, there was much expected from Mauro Icardi in the derby.
The young Argentine has been one of the few positives in the Nerazzurri's season so far, with seven goals and an assist in 11 starts, but he had a night to forget against Milan, spurning a brilliant chance early on and hitting the bar in the second half.
Rodrigo Palacio—who has yet to score this term—continued his torrid form and offered Icardi help, but Inter desperately needed the talented 21-year-old at his best, because without him they have very little hope of getting goals.
Loser: Fernando Torres
3 of 8
If ever there was a time for Fernando Torres to make his mark at Milan, it was the derby with Inter. Instead, the Spaniard failed to register a shot and looked completely out of sorts up front for the Rossoneri despite having a trio of accomplished attackers behind him for support.
Menez's link-up with Stephan El Shaarawy for the first goal showed what Inzaghi's side was capable of, but Torres was rarely in the right positions and when he was, he was far too slow to react.
It's three years since Torres left Liverpool—and his best form—behind for Chelsea, but the Spain international's decline still seems incredible. He has just a single goal to his name in a Milan shirt, and though a lack of options means that the club will have to keep faith for now, time is surely running out for him to stop the rot at the highest level.
Overall, it was disappointing stuff up front from the manager's perspective. As a player, the 41-year-old was a prolific striker, and holds a number of records, including being both Milan's and Italy's all-time top scorer in European club competition as well as having the most amount of Serie A hat-tricks (10).
Despite having more possession against a shaky Inter defence, Milan managed just eight shots all game, with four off target and one from El Shaarawy hitting the woodwork. If they'd had a striker of Inzaghi's ilk prowling the box, you get the feeling the scoreline would have been very different.
"Target practise first thing tomorrow for Inzaghi & co. #DerbyDellaMadoninna #milaninter
— Colin O'Brien (@ColliOBrien) November 23, 2014"
Winners: Cagliari
4 of 8
Only a point, but it could prove to be a precious one for Cagliari.
Zdenek Zeman has Diego Farias to thank for an unlikely draw away to Napoli, because the Brazilian winger was sublime at the San Paolo, scoring twice.
They remain just above the relegation zone, but scraping a draw in Naples puts them that little bit closer to safety and will do their confidence the world of good.
Losers: Napoli
5 of 8
So much for Napoli's resurgence. The Partenopei had been Serie A's form team, shaking themselves off after a poor start to the season to record a string of impressive results, including wins over Roma and Fiorentina.
After the weekend's clash with Cagliari, however, it will be back to the drawing board for Rafa Benitez because his side were completely undone at times by minnows Cagliari and the eternally optimistic attack that so epitomises their Czech coach and his philosophy of the game.
The home side looked to be comfortable, thanks to early strikes from Gonzalo Higuain and Gokhan Inler, and the way in which they allowed the Sardinians back into this match should be a huge concern for everyone involved.
Winners: Empoli and Maurizio Sarri
6 of 8
It's still early days, but thanks to an away win against torrid Parma, Maurizio Sarri's Empoli are now sitting relatively pretty in 14th.
The newly promoted side—this is only the Tuscans' 10th season in the top flight—were expected to struggle on their return to Serie A but are now above a number of more established teams in the table.
And with 13 points from 12 games, at this rate they'll finish the season on 41 points, which based on recent years would be more than enough to survive the drop.
Losers: Lazio
7 of 8
Losing to Juventus won't be a huge shock to Lazio fans, but the nature of the defeat might be.
The Biancocelesti were at home, had more shots than Juve—14 in total, from eight different players—but only ever tested Gigi Buffon with a couple of efforts from Antonio Candreva. And once the excellent Paul Pogba broke the deadlock, there only ever looked like being one winner.
Stefano Pioli's side has been one of the most prolific in the league so far this season, just behind Juve and Napoli. But an inability to adapt to difficult games, and a tendency to start slow, has hampered them.
So far this season, Lazio have conceded more goals (seven) in the opening 15 minutes than anyone else in the league. That vulnerability early on is a serious concern, even if it did take the Bianconeri 24 minutes to break the deadlock at the Olimpico.
Winner: Antonio Di Natale
8 of 8
Udinese's Antonio Di Natale bagged his 200th Serie A goal at the weekend. The strike put him in an elite group of players to hit the double century, and leaves him seventh overall, just five behind Roberto Baggio's record.
It's now been more than 12 years since he first scored in the first division—for Empoli against Como in September 2002—and with seven goals and three assists so far this campaign, he's showing no signs of slowing down. And to think he wanted to retire in the summer.
